Polonsky & Friends create an enticing packaging suit to accompany the brand’s mission of giving back to the female farmers harvesting the coveted spice.

Saffron has long been the world's costliest spice by weight. With it’s healing properties and concentrated flavouring, colour and fragrance this hand-picked spice has been in high demand across the globe for centuries.

A prime location for harvesting premium-grade saffron is in the Herat region of Afghanistan, an opportunity which Washington based brand Moonflower have turned into an ingenious business model that gives back to the female farmers who harvest the spice.

With the Afghan saffron industry being 80% female in a region where economic opportunities for women are limited, Moonflower's mission is to ensure that the women are empowered with fair wages and credit for their work.

To support their mission Moonflowers teamed up with conscious design studio Polonsky & Friends to create a branding and packaging suit that is visually appealing while communicating the high quality of the product, the region from where it came, and methods by which it was harvested.

A colour palette of bright, rich orange contrasted against a soft purple hue is directly inspired by the natural colours of the saffron flower. The orange also echoes the rich pigment produced by the spice when used in foods or drinks. Illustrations and imagery of the crocus flower sits centrally under an arch with a crescent moon, reflecting the night-time harvesting of the saffron, that also inspires the brand name ‘Moonflower’.

Simple typography combined with the moon, flower and arch motifs creates an aged apothecary aesthetic, echoing the spices long standing history and its historic use in herbal medicine.

Furthermore, Moonflower donates 1% of all profits to non-profit Skateistan, founded in Kabul, Afghanistan in 2007, that empowers children through skateboarding and creative, arts-based education in Afghanistan, Cambodia and South Africa.

For more information about the Polonsky & Friends design visit their website or follow them on Instagram .

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